ArticleNature communications2022
Focused ultrasound excites cortical neurons via mechanosensitive calcium accumulation and ion channel amplification.
Article in Nature communications, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 261 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
261 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 452 citations in OpenAlex.
- Neuromodulation effects of low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound in human, a systematic review focusing on motor and sensory functions.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2025Pooled it
- Low-intensity focused ultrasound of the spine in the treatment of chronic pain and movement disorder: a scoping review.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2025Pooled it
- Transcranial ultrasound stimulation in neuromodulation: a bibliometric analysis from 2004 to 2024.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Pooled it
- Transcranial ultrasound stimulation parameters for neurological diseases: a systematic review.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Focused ultrasound for treatment of epilepsy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of preclinical and clinical studies.Neurosurgical review · 2024Pooled it
- Suppression of pathological oscillations with transcranial focused ultrasound in Parkinson's disease.Nature communications · 2026Trial
- Exploring the role of neuro-immune modulation for psoriasis management: a narrative review of existing evidence and future therapies.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2026Review
- Neurostimulation in the treatment of psychiatric disorders: Underlying mechanisms and critical analysis of circuit-based interventions.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Review
- Induction of transferrin receptor 1-mediated ferroptosis by ultrasound-triggered microbubble destruction sensitizes glioblastoma to radiotherapy.Molecular biomedicine · 2026Article
- Transcranial ultrasound stimulation of the pulvinar and globus pallidus internus facilitates visual search.iScience · 2026Article
- Computational-Experimental Characterization of Transcranial Magneto-Acoustic Stimulation for Dose-Efficient Neural Activation.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- Impact of Therapeutic Ultrasound on Metabolic Hormone Release From Thyroid Gland.Journal of ultrasound in medicine : official journal of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine · 2026Article
- Shared-Scale Predictive Benchmarking of an Acoustic-Radiation-Force Model for Frequency-Dependent Retinal Ganglion Cell Responses.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Harnessing the nonthermal effects of ultrasound for cancer treatment: From mechanisms to applications.Smart molecules : open access · 2026Review
- Noninvasive biophysical modulations of Piezo ion channels.Microsystems & nanoengineering · 2026Review
- Clearance of intracranial debris by ultrasound reduces inflammation and improves outcomes in hemorrhagic stroke models.Nature biotechnology · 2026Article
- Flexible Dielectric Acoustic Resonator Patch for Tissue Regeneration.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2026Article
- High pressure transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation induces parameter-dependent cell-type specific effects.Microsystems & nanoengineering · 2026Review
- Transcranial focused ultrasound modulates spiking, LFP, and BOLD activity in the primate thalamus.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Focused ultrasound neuromodulation for psychiatric disorders: a scoping review of clinical applications and current progress.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2026Review
201 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Ultrasonic neuromodulation has the unique potential to provide non-invasive control of neural activity in deep brain regions with high spatial precision and without chemical or genetic modification. However, the biomolecular and cellular mechanisms by which focused ultrasound excites mammalian neurons have remained unclear, posing significant challenges for the use of this technology in research and potential clinical applications. Here, we show that focused ultrasound excites primary murine cortical neurons in culture through a primarily mechanical mechanism mediated by specific calcium-selective mechanosensitive ion channels. The activation of these channels results in a gradual build-up of calcium, which is amplified by calcium- and voltage-gated channels, generating a burst firing response. Cavitation, temperature changes, large-scale deformation, and synaptic transmission are not required for this excitation to occur. Pharmacological and genetic inhibition of specific ion channels leads to reduced responses to ultrasound, while over-expressing these channels results in stronger ultrasonic stimulation. These findings provide a mechanistic explanation for the effect of ultrasound on neurons to facilitate the further development of ultrasonic neuromodulation and sonogenetics as tools for neuroscience research.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.